Relating ACT Composite Score to Different Levels of First-Year College GPA

ACT Research & Policy Technical Brief May 2017 Relating ACT Composite Score to Different Levels of First-Year College GPA Jeff allen, PhD anD JusTine raDunzel, PhD Introduction In 2005, ACT established College Readiness Benchmarks representing the ACT scores associated with a 50% chance of earning a B or higher grade in common first-year credit-bearing courses at a typical postsecondary institution (Allen & Sconing, 2005). Benchmarks were established for English, mathematics, reading, and science and have been used as indicators of college readiness. The Benchmarks were updated in 2013 (Allen, 2013), the ACT STEM Benchmark was established in 2015 (Mattern, Radunzel, & Westrick, 2015; Radunzel, Mattern, Crouse, & Westrick, 2016), and a preliminary ACT ELA Benchmark was developed in 2017 (Radunzel, Westrick, Bassiri, & Li, 2017). The ACT STEM Benchmark measures readiness for first-year college courses in mathematics and sciences most commonly taken by science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)­related majors, and the ACT ELA Benchmark measures readiness for some of the most commonly taken first-year English Language Arts (ELA)-related courses in English and the social sciences. Similar to the original Benchmarks, students scoring at the STEM and ELA Benchmarks have a 50% chance of earning a B or higher grade, in the respective courses, at a typical postsecondary institution. Table 1 provides the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks and the respective college courses used to establish the Benchmarks. Table 1. ACT College Readiness Benchmarks ACT Test Score College Courses Benchmark English English Composition I 18 Mathematics College Algebra 22 Reading American History, Other History, Psychology, Sociology, Political Science, Economics 22 Science Biology 23 STEM1 Calculus, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Engineering 26 ELA2 English Composition I, American History, Other History, Psychology, Sociology, Political Science, Economics 20 1 The ACT STEM score is the rounded average of the ACT mathematics and science test scores. 2 The ACT ELA score is the rounded average of the ACT English, reading, and writing scores. Acknowledgement: The authors thank Krista Mattern and Emily Neff for their reviews and suggestions for improving this report. Jeff Allen is a statistician in the Research division at ACT. He specializes in longitudinal research linking test scores to educational outcomes and student growth models.Justine Radunzel is a principal research scientist in Statistical and Applied Research specializing in postsecondary outcomes research and validity evidence for the ACT® test. www.act.org/policy-advocacyEmail research.policy@act.org for more information. © 2017 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved. R1646 ACT Research & Policy Relating ACT Composite Score to Different Levels of First-Year College GPA The Benchmarks provide actionable data, linking content-area knowledge and skills to expectations of success in corresponding college courses. ACT has not established an overall Benchmark for the ACT Composite score. Instead, stakeholders are encouraged to assess readiness for each subject area using the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks. However, some states may have interest in a single indicator of readiness, based on the ACT Composite score, for accountability purposes. The goal of this study is to provide empirical evidence linking ACT Composite score to different levels of first-year college GPA to support decisions around college readiness cut scores. To support coherence with the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks, the methods used in this study are similar to those used for the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks. Methods Data Sources ACT data were matched to first-year cumulative college GPA (FYGPA) records provided by postsecondary institutions. Through research partnerships or participation in research services offered by ACT, postsecondary institutions provide ACT with FYGPA for first-year students. For students who persisted through the first year of college, FYGPA represents performance through the spring semester. For students who dropped out after the first semester of college, fall GPA is carried forward as FYGPA. Student background data, including gender, race/ethnicity, and grades earned in high school courses, were obtained from students’ ACT test records. Later, we describe how these data were used in the statistical analyses. We matched students’ ACT scores from their last ACT test record to the course grade data. Sample Postsecondary institutions. Data from each institution cohort were used for the analysis if they met the following criteria: 1) N>50 students with FYGPA data available; 2) availability of institutional data, including type (2-year or 4-year), admissions policy (open, liberal, traditional, selective, or highly selective), and control (public or private) through ACT’s Institutional Data Questionnaire; and 3) percentage of students earning a